Dear Tehya, Jacob, Jack, and Savannah,

You get to go to the beach on Friday. Congratulations! When Marci, Brian, and Natalie were little, we would go to the beach about once a week with several other families. We found so many ways to have fun at the beach that I thought you would like to know what your mommy did on our ocean trips.

Five Ways to Have Fun at the Beach

1. Make a beach chair. First, find the perfect spot on the sand to lay your towel. Make sure there are no rocks or seagull poop on your special spot. Dig a hole in the sand for your bum and pile the sand next to your hole for a back rest. It should look like this: ---u/. (Use your imagination.) Put your towel over the sand and relax. You will feel like you are sitting on a reclining chair or a royal throne. Marci liked to make this chair, because then she could be the queen of the beach. If you sit on your towel this way and your feet get hot, you can just wiggle your toes down in the cool sand and protect them from the sun.

2. Play tag with the ocean. Run down to the edge of the water. Chase the wave as it pulls back into the ocean, and then run when it comes forward to get you. Remember to never turn your back to the ocean because it will sneak up on you and tag you. Natalie always played this game. She never got wet, but I did chasing her.

3. Watch out for seagulls. They will eat anything, anytime. If you feed one, poor, little, starving seagull with sad eyes, 100 more will come. You can then chase them away, but be careful. One or two tricky seagulls will always stay behind and try to eat your sandwich while you are chasing their cousins.

4. Lunchtime. You have made wonderful sand castles, played tag with the waves, waded in the water, and chased seagulls. Now it is time for lunch. But wait! Look at your hands. They are covered with sand. My advice is to let them dry and then wipe your hands on your mommy's towel. (She liked to use my towel for sandy fingers and save hers for more important things like laying on and getting tan.) Sandwiches should be made of tuna or cheese or turkey, not crunchy sand that feels like dirt on your teeth. Apples are good for beach. Sand wipes right off the skin. Yogurt is also great for a beach picnic because the lid keeps the contents safe and smooth and creamy. Of course, you need to remember spoons. But don't worry, if you forget a spoon you can just drink the yogurt and then go wash the milky mustache off in the ocean.

5. Sand Crabs. I have saved the best for last. Underneath the wet sand are little creatures called sand crabs. They have a hard shell and lots of wiggly legs. You can find all sizes: little ones, big ones, and sometimes if you are lucky, great big ones. All you need is a bucket with sand and water in it and a shovel. Go down by the water and start digging. Put all the ones you find in your bucket. Your mommy used to spend so much time bent over, digging for sand crabs, that her bottom got sunburned. Really! Just ask her. Now I know you will want to take the crabs home and love them and care for them and give them all names and find them food. Please don't. Let them go back to their families at the end of the day. Their mommies and daddies will miss them. If you do sneak them home with you and take them to your room, they will end up dying and stinking up your room. Your mother will walk by your door and say, "What is that smell?" Marci should know all about this smell, because she liked to bring them home in her sand bucket. You will get caught. It is not a nice smell.


So wonderful children, have fun at the beach. Make sand castles, play tag, get wet, find crabs, and put sunscreen on your bottoms. (Should I say bum bums?) Send me pictures.

Love and kisses,
Grandma